Tragedy: Mystery surrounds the death of Highlander Scott McLaren, 20, of 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, in Afghanistan

The parents of a British soldier executed by the Taliban have accused the Army of covering up evidence that bullying colleagues forced their son to march into enemy territory to his death.

Highlander Scott McLaren, 20, was tortured and killed by insurgents after he left his checkpoint base in Helmand province in the middle of the night and walked into a Taliban area christened ‘The Heart of Darkness’ because it is so dangerous.

For two years Ann and James McLaren have agonised over what possessed their son to stuff his personal possessions into his rucksack on the morning of July 4, 2011, strap it on and then sneak past sentries at the checkpoint’s rear exit and take such a treacherous journey.

Now they have finally dismissed the Army’s official explanation of why Scott left Checkpoint (CP) Salaang – that he wanted to find a pair of night-vision goggles left by a colleague 300 yards north of the base. Instead, they believe he wanted to flee fellow soldiers who were bullying him for being a shy, quiet ‘outsider’.

Mr and Mrs McLaren point to the fact that just hours before his departure their son was seen crying and studying a map of Babaji district, where the checkpoint was situated. Crucially, Scott chose a route that took him three miles south of the base and never approached the canal bank where the night-vision goggles had been lost.

Today, The Mail on Sunday can reveal that reports that Scott was bullied at CP Salaang are being investigated by Royal Military Police detectives.

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Last night, his 51-year-old father said: ‘I’ve had Scott’s military friends confide in me that he was bullied. It is very hard for me to think that my laddie was running away that night, but even if he was I am still very proud of him.

‘It is nothing against him if he was leaving the base and didn’t want to go back because of what was being done to him. With Scott in such an emotional state somebody should have looked after him. He was vulnerable.

‘Look at the route he took, he went entirely the other way.’

An inquest into Scott’s death did not include testimony that he was bullied after coroner David Ridley told the hearing that ‘it is not my responsibility to determine why Scott left the checkpoint’.

Neither were concerns raised about how Scott supposedly departed CP Salaang without any of his colleagues noticing – even when he had collected his personal items, including his laptop, and was carrying a large, heavy rucksack.

ANOTHER FATHER FEARS COVER-UP... OVER SAS DEATH

The family of an SAS hopeful who collapsed and died while training in a heatwave have warned Army chiefs not to try to cover up details of what led to the tragedy.

Lance Corporal Craig Roberts, 24, was one of three potential recruits who died from suspected heat exhaustion during a gruelling march in the Brecon Beacons in Wales. The other men were trooper Eddie Maher, 31, and Corporal James Dunsby, 31, of the Royal Yeomanry, who died two weeks after the exercise.

L/Cpl Roberts’s father, Kelvin, has urged the Ministry of Defence to be ‘open and transparent’ at the inquest and with police investigating the tragedies.

Asked at his home in Penrhyn Bay, North Wales, if he expected the Army to ‘fully and openly explain how the men died’, Mr Roberts said: ‘Well, that’s the six-million dollar question, isn’t it?’

He added: ‘Until the inquest or the (police) inquiry have sat, it’s hard for me to say anything.’

Hinting heavily that he plans to speak out if not satisfied with the military’s explanation for the deaths, he added: ‘But anything that’s put forward there will form the basis of any decision I make in terms of speaking out. I have to wait until the findings of the inquest or inquiry come out.’

L/Cpl Roberts, of 3rd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, collapsed while climbing Pen Y Fan mountain on July 13.

The deaths of all three men, who were weighed down by kit, are being investigated by the police.An MoD spokesman said earlier this month: ‘The Army is co-operating fully with this investigation.’

James, a security manager, added: ‘It has been very convenient for the Army to stand by these claims, such as the goggles, and that the guards were apparently distracted as he left the base.

‘If somebody can get out of the place so easily then somebody can get in too. Apparently the soldier who was supposed to watch the CCTV camera footage had his back turned when Scott appeared on screen and another guard was distracted because he was listening to music through a set of headphones. At least that’s what we’ve been told.

‘The inquest came after just five months when some families have waited two years for their day in court. Top brass wanted Scott’s case out of the way very quickly as it was so damaging to morale. And the conclusions that were reached were just too neat and tidy, suspiciously so.’

Anger: Scott McLaren's parents Ann and James still have questions about what happened to their son

Scott, from Edinburgh’s Sighthill district, had wanted to become an Army motor technician. But when there were no places on the 2009 Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers entry course he joined the infantry instead, completing basic training the following year.

In April 2011 his unit, The Highlanders, 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (4SCOTS), was sent to Helmand in southern Afghanistan.

Two months later Scott and other ‘Jocks’ were posted to CP Salaang on the Nahr-e Bughra canal.

It might have been that his personality counted against him. Scottish regiments are renowned for robust banter between soldiers and physical punishments being meted out for minor misdemeanours. But colleagues described Scott as extremely quiet and sensitive to criticism.

James McLaren told The Mail on Sunday that after the night-vision goggles were lost on July 2, commanders at CP Salaang told the ‘Jocks’ that they were ‘useless’ and ‘would never be trusted again’.

Military detectives are investigating whether Scott son was subsequently singled out for abuse by other soldiers because as the ‘tail-ender’ of the patrol he should have seen any equipment mislaid by those marching ahead of him.

The following day, July 3, the same troops, including Scott, returned to the canal bank to search in vain for the goggles. By then, the equipment had most likely been taken by locals and given to the Taliban to use against British Forces.

Last respects: The family of Highlander Scott McLaren, of the 4th Battalion, look on as his coffin is carried in to the crematorium

The hearse carrying the coffin of Scott McLaren arrives at Mortonhall Crematorium in Edinburgh

After completing a stag (security) duty, Scott left the base at 2.19am on July 4 and headed south. He was intercepted by local villagers who were concerned for his safety. But word spread fast through Babaji about the lone British soldier and he was captured by the Taliban, who removed his body armour, clothing, rifle and rucksack. Those items were never recovered. Finally, Scott’s absence was noticed at CP Salaang and at 4am Task Force Helmand – the headquarters of British Forces in Afghanistan – launched a massive manhunt. Soon, Apache attack helicopters and Predator drones were circling the district.

Scott’s captors dressed him in a headscarf and dish-dash (a long, flowing shirt) so that he would not be recognised from the air. They also destroyed a ‘mockingbird’ infrared transmission marker attached to his helmet that would have revealed his whereabouts. Meanwhile, Prime Minister David Cameron was due to arrive in Helmand for a morale-boosting tour of British bases.

But when briefed on the situation, he told military advisers: ‘I’ll stay in Kabul [the Afghan capital city]. You throw everything you’ve got at picking up this young man.’

And so by first light, 300 British troops had received the emergency radio message: ‘Charlie Charlie 1, man away, repeat man away,’ ordering them to join the hunt.

Kirsty McLaren, Scott's sister, looks on during the funeral as soldiers walk past

Grief: Ann and James McLaren, Scott's parents,
comfort each other at his funeral, left. Mr McLaren senior, carries the
flag, hat and belt which were draped over his son's coffin after the
funeral

The shooting party fire during the funeral of Highlander Scott McLaren, of the 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, at Mortonhall Crematorium in Edinburgh

The mission was led by the Brigade Reconnaissance Force, 42 Commando Royal Marines and 30 Commando’s Information Exploitation Group, who are specialists in surveillance and high-technology assets. By 11am British Forces were closing in.

Troops who took part in the operation have told this newspaper that Scott’s captors suddenly panicked. Fearing they would be caught with their quarry, they cut short his horrific interrogation and fired five shots into his head at close range.

At 5pm Royal Marines scouring a network of streams and tunnels made a terrible discovery: Scott’s half-naked body, brutalised and riddled with bullet holes. His father knows exactly what was done to his son but cannot bring himself to speak the words.

A post-mortem examination suggested that ‘other acts’ were carried out to make him ‘more submissive’, while his body was interfered with before and after his death. No details of the ‘interference’ were given at Scott’s inquest.

Over the past two years Ann McLaren, 50, has lost hope that other soldiers will reveal what happened at CP Salaang to lead to her son leaving the base.

She said: ‘If they had wanted to get it off their chests, they would have done so. Nobody is going to own up now because they’ve got too much to lose. I’d like a more thorough inquiry by the military, but I doubt it would achieve much.’ Ann and James are also disappointed the Army has not kept them abreast of developments in the Royal Military Police investigation. They have heard nothing since being told that detectives were visiting 4SCOTS in Germany to interview their son’s colleagues.

Last night a MoD spokesman said: ‘Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Highlander Scott McLaren.

‘We are committed to giving the families of Service personnel all the support they need. If they tragically lose a loved one on operations, then the family are provided with a dedicated visiting officer.

‘Once those services are no longer required, the family have a contact point should they have any issues or concerns they wish to raise.’

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Why was our weeping son allowed to wander off base to be killed by the Taliban? Parents of soldier murdered 'searching for binoculars' accuse top brass of cover-up